Chapter 003: Life and Death on Board

Lin Yuan finally understood everything. He activated the ship's intercom and spoke in the most solemn voice of his life: "I am Captain Lin Yuan. The current date is September 17, 1894. We have returned to the past! We are now positioned between the Japanese Combined Fleet and the Beiyang Fleet. In less than two hours, the Battle of Dazhong Gou, which will determine the fate of the First Sino-Japanese War, will erupt. The outcome of this battle is well known; the Beiyang Fleet suffered a disastrous defeat! Now, history has bestowed upon us a sacred and great responsibility. The moment to change the fate of the Chinese nation has arrived. We shall be the authors of this new chapter in history! Now I command! All hands, prepare for Level One War Readiness! Immediately repair the damaged facilities! Be ready to launch an attack on the Japanese forces at any moment!"

Lin Yuan saw the opposing warship cease its bombardment, and a surge of excitement welled up within him. At that moment, Xu Feng's voice crackled through the radio, "Chick calls Nest! Requesting to land!"

Lin Yuanxin thought: "It seems we have truly returned to the past, just like in a science fiction novel. So what time is it now?" At that moment, the observation department transmitted information indicating that a warship flying the Yellow Dragon Flag was positioned at the bow. He suddenly understood that their aircraft carrier had returned to September 17, 1894, to the waters of Dadonggou at the mouth of the Yalu River. It was now eleven o'clock. In half an hour, Admiral Ito Yūhō, the first commander of the Imperial Japanese Navy Combined Fleet, would discover the Beiyang Fleet, which he had been searching for. In one hour and fifty minutes, the flagship of the Beiyang Fleet, the "Dingyuan," would fire its first shot, marking the outbreak of the Battle of Dadonggou! In another five hours, the naval battle would conclude, resulting in over 800 casualties for the Beiyang Fleet and the loss of five warships. With this battle, the Beiyang Fleet would hand over naval supremacy to the Imperial Japanese Navy.

Aliens, supernatural events, terms that only exist in science fiction novels appeared in his mind. He self-deprecatingly said: "I still have the time to think about these; let me find the aircraft carrier first."

Just as Xu Feng was humming a tune while piloting the J-24 fighter jet on a patrol, suddenly, the radar screen went completely blank, and he realized that he had lost himself.

Lin Yuan scolded, "What time is it, and you are still talking nonsense. I command you, land the aircraft!" He then ordered the preparation of interception cables and barriers.

When the carrier-based aircraft is cruising several hundred kilometers away from the aircraft carrier, the pilot cannot visually detect the carrier and can only ascertain its position through the carrier's airborne tactical navigation system. This system is essentially a radio navigation device that indicates location. The aircraft carrier emits electromagnetic waves containing its positional information, which the carrier-based aircraft receives, allowing the pilot to determine the carrier's location from these waves. However, now Xu Feng's radar is receiving no information, meaning that Xu Feng can no longer locate the aircraft carrier. This system is essentially a radio navigation device that indicates location. The aircraft carrier emits electromagnetic waves containing its positional information, which the carrier-based aircraft receives, allowing the pilot to determine the carrier's location from these waves. However, now Xu Feng's radar is receiving no information, meaning that Xu Feng can no longer locate the aircraft carrier.

When people's hearts were slightly eased, a sudden change occurred again. The wheels of the landing gear hit a crater, and the landing gear could not withstand such an impact. With a crack, it broke, the nose dipped, and it crashed heavily onto the deck, creating a large shower of sparks

The war has broken out! Xu Feng thought to himself, a surge of hot blood rising in his heart. Back when he graduated from university to become a pilot, it was all for the sake of this day.

Subsequently, Japan captured Lüshun, massacring 30,000 Chinese soldiers and civilians! Liu Gong Island and Weihaiwei fell one after another, and the Beiyang Fleet was completely annihilated

Xu Feng chuckled and said, "I am running low on fuel, and the nearest shore base to me is the Kadena Air Base in Japan. Do you think they would welcome me? Moreover, the land bases have no signal at all. I suspect that our motherland has already suffered a nuclear strike, and then our nuclear submarine deep in the ocean initiated a nuclear counterattack. Now the world has been destroyed"

The only action that can be taken now is to violate the radio silence order and activate the radio communication device to contact the mothership. He turned on the radio, but all he heard in the headphones was a continuous "static" sound, and the radio was malfunctioning.

Lin Yuan heard the voice of his good brother and quickly said: "You did a great job! If it weren't for you, we wouldn't know how many more shells we would have to endure"

Is it an electronic attack from the enemy? He suddenly recalled the Japanese F-2 fighter jet that had been shadowing him moments ago; at times, he could even see the appearance of the pilot in that aircraft. He looked up, and the F-2 had already vanished without a trace

Gradually, he unexpectedly discovered the aircraft carrier, feeling a sense of having narrowly escaped death. However, he soon realized that several warships, emitting black smoke, were attacking the aircraft carrier just a few thousand meters away.

He switched the aircraft back to manual mode, pushing down the control stick. Thanks to the powerful engines, the twenty-eight-ton heavy fighter descended like a nimble swallow, stopping just thirty meters above the water surface, a height at which it is not easily detected by radar

Lin Yuan was taken aback and immediately ordered, "Everyone, evacuate the island!" However, there were over a hundred people on the island, and it was impossible to evacuate them so quickly

Just as everyone was expecting the arrestor wire to catch the aircraft, the left rear landing gear of the plane struck a crater, causing the aircraft to suddenly veer to one side, unexpectedly bypassing the arrestor wire and heading straight towards the carrier's island.

The maritime surveillance radar screen prominently displayed: In the direction of the aircraft carrier's stern, there were twelve warships arranged in a line, with the one that had just attacked positioned at the end of the line, five kilometers away; in the direction of the aircraft carrier's bow, there were ten warships arranged in a row, approaching from the front, ten kilometers away. From the radar echoes, these warships did not appear to be modern vessels

Gradually, the opposing warship entered missile range. From a distance, Xu Feng also found it strange; the structures on the deck of that warship appeared quite disordered. Modern warships, in order to reduce radar cross-section, generally adopt an integrated design, striving for a streamlined appearance. However, that warship surprisingly had gun ports open on both sides, with long gun barrels protruding, which undoubtedly significantly increased its radar cross-section.

The aircraft has come to a stop! Danger averted

The aircraft slowly approached the deck, its tail extending the arrestor hook, and the landing gear was lowered. The wheels touched the deck, which seemed to resonate in everyone's hearts, causing a collective "thud" within. Immediately, the arrestor hook caught the first arrestor wire, but at that moment, the wire snapped with a loud bang, causing everyone's hearts to leap. Fortunately, the second arrestor wire firmly held onto the aircraft

Lin Yuan then said: "The aircraft carrier cannot land, you should return to the shore base."

Xu Feng received the order to adjust the aircraft's direction, aligning it with the landing runway. The landing guidance radar had malfunctioned, leaving only the Fresnel lens-based landing aid system to rely on. This system is an optical system; during the landing process, if the pilot sees the lens emitting an orange-yellow light, it indicates that a precise landing can be achieved

Strange as it may be, Xu Feng still locked onto the target, opened the missile bay, and two missiles shot out with tongues of fire, like two hungry wolves pouncing on a fat sheep, charging towards the enemy ship

After launching the missile, Xu Feng had no time to admire the spectacular scene of the missile striking the enemy ship. He shut off the afterburner, pulled the control stick, and at the same time, the vector thrust device of the engine's tail nozzle turned at an angle. The aircraft immediately lifted its nose and surged into the sky. At that moment, the aircraft's radar and radio equipment suddenly returned to normal.

Xu Feng felt a chill in his heart, it's over

Xu Feng had a sudden inspiration and activated the afterburner of the engine. The aircraft's tail nozzle instantly expelled flames over five meters long, and the speedometer indicated that the aircraft had reached a speed of 2.7 Mach. Such a high speed endowed the missile with tremendous initial kinetic energy, allowing it to penetrate the armor of the enemy warship.

One significant difference between air-to-air missiles and anti-ship missiles lies in their warheads. The warhead of an anti-ship missile is considerably more powerful than that of an air-to-air missile. Therefore, Xu Feng is uncertain whether these two air-to-air missiles can effectively strike enemy warships. He is even concerned that the missiles may not be able to penetrate the external armor of the warships.

The officers and soldiers on the ship were initially taken aback, but soon erupted in cheers. They had been waiting for this day for a long time. They immediately sprang into action, with the crane vehicle driving onto the deck to lift the damaged aircraft and place it on the maintenance vehicle. The maintenance vehicle transported the aircraft to the lift platform, which descended to bring the aircraft to the hangar. The personnel on standby in the lower hangar immediately began disassembling the aircraft, replacing the landing gear and fuselage skin. The maintenance crew also rushed onto the deck to repair the catapult, replace the arrestor wire, and smooth the deck. The maintenance vehicle transported the aircraft to the lift platform, which descended to bring the aircraft to the hangar. The personnel on standby in the lower hangar immediately began disassembling the aircraft, replacing the landing gear and fuselage skin. The maintenance crew also rushed onto the deck to repair the catapult, replace the arrestor wire, and smooth the deck.

"Those formalities can be discussed later; can I land now?"

Just as everyone was cheering for the successful landing, a fire suddenly erupted at the rear of the fuselage. The residual fuel in the engine ignited due to the tremendous impact and friction. However, the damage control personnel on the deck rushed over immediately, and the foam sprayed from the high-pressure gun quickly covered the burning fuselage. The landing support staff set up a ladder and pulled the sweating Xu Feng out of the cockpit. Xu Feng removed his helmet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and casually smiled, saying, "It seems the air conditioning in this plane isn't very good; look how hot I am." The landing support staff set up a ladder and pulled the sweating Xu Feng out of the cockpit. Xu Feng removed his helmet, wiped the sweat from his forehead, and casually smiled, saying, "It seems the air conditioning in this plane isn't very good; look how hot I am."

The first missile tore through the armor of the warship's hull, exploding between the cannons. High-speed fragments instantly detonated the undischarged shells, and a massive shockwave swiftly lifted the lookout tower off the deck. The second missile penetrated through the breach created by the first, exploding upon impact with the boiler. The boiler's walls were riddled with holes, and the high-temperature, high-pressure steam surged forth like prisoners breaking free from shackles, incinerating those nearby. Immediately following, a tremendous explosion occurred as the boiler ruptured. With the boiler damaged, the warship lost all power and came to a halt on the water's surface. At this moment, other warships ceased their bombardment.

Upon reaching the final coordinates, he lowered the aircraft to 400 meters, simultaneously activating the electro-optical detection device to begin searching for the aircraft carrier. The sea on the thermal imaging screen appeared as a tranquil green, while the warship, being warmer than the sea, was displayed in red on the screen

A plane cannot remain in the air indefinitely. If it cannot locate the carrier before running out of fuel, the outcome will be catastrophic. Although faced with a life-and-death moment, Xu Feng remains calm; the more dangerous the situation, the more composed he becomes, which is one of his strengths. He retrieves the recorded location information of the carrier from the flight control computer and heads towards the last coordinates. The speed of the aircraft far exceeds that of the carrier, and he is certain that he will find the carrier near those coordinates. He lowers the altitude of the aircraft to 1,000 meters and increases the throttle, showcasing the supersonic cruising capability of the J-24.

Xu Feng is an experienced pilot. He is not worried about the descent process; rather, his greatest fear is the damaged deck of the aircraft carrier. The runway is riddled with craters, and if the aircraft's landing gear hits one of these craters, the plane will not slide forward along the predetermined path but will veer to the sides. Falling into the sea would be considered fortunate, but if it collides with the carrier's island, the lives of the personnel inside would also be at risk. With this thought in mind, he opened the fuel dump valve, releasing excess fuel, and shut down the engine. He knows that what he is doing is extremely dangerous; the aircraft must be at maximum speed during landing to ensure that if the landing is unsuccessful, it can still take off again. However, by doing this, Xu Feng has only one chance to land. If he fails, it will result in the destruction of the aircraft and loss of life

At the critical moment of life and death, two sounds of "crack" echoed, and then the entire aircraft plunged downwards, with the middle and rear sections of the fuselage crashing onto the deck. Xu Feng suddenly understood that the two rear landing gears had broken. Now, the entire aircraft was scraping along the deck, and the immense friction finally brought the aircraft to a halt

Seeing the aircraft successfully land, Lin Yuan felt a surge of excitement in his heart. Immediately after, an even more delightful event occurred: the radar officer reported that all radars had returned to normal

The moment of revenge is about to arrive

The blank on the radar screen indicates that the radar has completely failed to receive electromagnetic waves. Could it be a radar malfunction? The J-24's active phased array radar is at the forefront internationally, with a very low failure rate. Even in the event of a malfunction, it could not be such a significant failure!

Lin Yuan turned to look at the advisor, who frowned and shook his head, saying: "The deck has been damaged, and the interception cable has also been destroyed. Landing now may pose a danger."

As the aircraft rapidly approached the warship, Xu Feng discovered another issue: since it was merely a routine air defense mission and not during a state of war readiness, his fighter jet was not equipped with anti-ship missiles, and the weapons bay contained only two PL-21 air-to-air missiles

The roof leaks just as the night rain begins to fall; the second arresting cable has just developed a crack. It can no longer withstand the force of the aircraft and with a loud bang, it breaks into two pieces. Now, the only thing that can stop the aircraft is the final arresting net ahead. Under normal circumstances, a collision between the arresting net and the aircraft would cause some damage to the aircraft's structure, so it is not used unless absolutely necessary. If the arresting net is not deployed now, the aircraft will crash directly into the sea.